Kindle

Delivery & Returns

Free 1st Class postage on UK orders. European postage from £2 per item. Worldwide postage from £3 per item. If you're not happy with your purchase for any reason, we'll give you a full refund.
More information...

A guide to walking in the Cordillera Cantabrica mountain range in northern Spain. This guidebook describes 60 routes spread throughout the area from selected valley bases with easy access. All the routes are circular and can be done in a day. In difficulty they vary from straightforward, half-day outings to strenuous, full-day ascents.

Seasons

Mainly April until November, although winter snow offers good ski traversing possibilities. Wettest in early spring, with rain returning in October.

Centres

Sena de Luna and San Eniliano in W. Leon, Pola de Somiedo in W. Asturias, La Vicella and Riano in E. Leon, Felechosa and Arriondas in E. Asturias, Cervera de Pisuerga in the Palencia and Cantabria region.

Difficulty

Most of the walking in high mountain terrain, requiring an appropriate level of fitness, equipment and experience.

Must See

Peace and solitude, subtle but grandiose beauty, good walking terrain and a sense of history!

Walking in the Cordillera Cantabrica is a mountaineering guide to one of Spain’s premier ranges, and includes detailed descriptions for 60 routes spread around the whole of this magnificent mountain chain. Based on selected valley bases, the routes are readily accessed, thus minimising travel time. All of the routes can be done in a day and all are circular, whilst in difficulty they vary from straightforward, half-day outings to strenuous, full-day ascents demanding fitness, good overall mountain skills, and the ability to deal with short sections of scrambling.

This guide is complemented by articles on four specialist topics of interest to any who wish to know the range in greater depth: place-names, transhumance, the Civil War and alpine flora. The Cordillera Cantabrica is currently home to a total of nine protected areas, including three UN-designated areas.

Appendix 1 – Useful InformationAppendix 2 – Guidebooks in SpanishAppendix 3 – Emergency procedure in the Cordillera Cantábrica Glossary of Common Map Terms Place-names: the Magic of Words by David Caballero Transhumance in the Cordillera Cantábrica by Victor Guerra The Cordillera Cantábrica in the Spanish Civil War by Claudia Cabrero Alpine Flora of the Cordillera Cantábrica by Teresa Farino Index of Summits

Maps: Only five years ago this was a thorny problem. There were large gaps in the IGN’s (Instituto Geográfico Nacional) 1:25,000 series, whilst the 1:50,000 series was, and still is, simply not accurate enough. Some local mountaineers spoke well of the military maps, but they were not freely available, especially to somebody arriving from outside the area, a situation which has not improved.

Today, whilst some numbers still await revision, the IGN 1:25,000 series is virtually complete, with many of the maps having been revised only recently. As a result, these maps are mostly up-to-date and accurate, with map contouring almost always spot on. Sadly, however, errors occur rather too frequently with names, some being trivial, but others less so.

In addition to the 1:25,000 series, the IGN have also published a number of tourist maps (Mapa-Guía), one of which covers the area described in the section ‘Palencia and Cantabria’. These maps are complemented by two maps published privately by Miguel Adrados: those covering the Parque Natural de Somiedo and the excellent 1:25,000 map of the Ubiña massif. Overall, it is now fair to say that acceptable mapping is available at 1:25,000 for almost all of the routes in this guide. Where mapping is inadequate, this is compensated for by greater detail in the route description.

It is not necessary to buy the full 1:25,000 IGN series in order to use this guide, nor would it be economical, as the full series would cost some £250. In each route description an indication is given of the specific map requirements and how these are best met in instances where various options are available. The introduction to each sector also provides a list of essential maps, whilst the following maps might be of help in travelling around the area:
• Cordillera Cantábrica1:200,000 IGN
• Provincia de Asturias 1:200,000 IGN
• Provincia de León 1:200,000 IGN
• Provincia de Palencia 1:200,000 IGN
• Cordillera Cantábrica 1:260,000 Adrados Ediciones.

All these maps can be obtained a number of ways (see Appendix 1 for further details):

Via map and guide specialists in the UK. Initially, this method might appear to be the easiest, but UK specialists will probably not be able to supply you with everything you want.

Buying the maps once in Spain. This is the cheapest method, but many walkers want the maps beforehand for planning purposes.

The Casa del Mapa are official outlets for the Instituto Geográfico Nacional, and as such all three offer a full display of all their publications, although obviously none of them sell maps other than those of the IGN.

Buying the maps from a Spanish mail order specialist. Two companies curr­ently offer a reliable service for internet ordering:

We do not yet have any updates available for this book

We are always grateful to readers for information about any discrepancies between a
guidebook and the facts on the ground. If you would like to send some information
to us then please use our contact form. They
will be published here following review by the author(s).

We do not yet have any reviews for this book

Robin Walker

Robin Walker began mountaineering in his native Northumberland at the age of 13, and went on to walk and climb throughout the British Isles, Norway, the Dolomites, the Alps and the USA. In 1981 he moved to northern Spain, his early experiences culminating in Walks and Climbs in the Picos de Europa (Cicerone, 1989).